Losing a passport at home is stressful. Losing one while you’re actually abroad is a different kind of problem, since the standard domestic replacement process doesn’t apply — you’re dealing with an embassy or consulate instead. Here’s what to actually do.
Step One: Don’t Panic, But Act Quickly
A lost passport in a foreign country needs faster attention than one lost at home, since it affects your ability to get back into the country you’re visiting, cross additional borders, or fly home at all. The process is manageable, but delaying it only extends how long you’re stuck.
Step Two: File a Local Police Report
Most U.S. embassies and consulates require or strongly recommend a local police report as part of processing an emergency passport, particularly if the passport was stolen rather than simply misplaced. Do this before contacting the embassy if possible, since you’ll likely need to reference it during your appointment.
Step Three: Contact the Nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate
This is the step that differs most from a domestic lost passport situation. Rather than a regional passport agency, your point of contact abroad is the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Call or visit as soon as possible — most embassies have a specific process for emergency passport replacement designed for exactly this situation.
Step Four: Bring What You Can
Embassies understand you may not have much documentation with you, but bring whatever you do have:
- A photocopy of your passport, if you kept one separately (a smart habit for future trips).
- A local police report, if you filed one.
- Proof of citizenship, if available (even a photo of your passport’s data page on your phone can help).
- Passport photos — some embassies can take these on-site if you don’t have any.
- Proof of onward or return travel, such as a flight confirmation.
Step Five: Get an Emergency Passport
U.S. embassies and consulates can issue an emergency passport — sometimes called a limited-validity passport — that’s typically valid for about a year. It’s designed to get you home or to your next destination, not to serve as a long-term replacement. Once you’re back in the U.S., you’ll need to apply for a full replacement.
Step Six: Report the Loss Officially
In addition to the embassy process, it’s worth reporting the lost passport through the State Department’s standard channels as soon as you’re able, which permanently cancels the old passport number and helps protect you from identity theft if someone else finds or took it.
Step Seven: Check Your Onward Travel Requirements
If your trip involves additional countries after the one where you lost your passport, check each destination’s entry requirements with your new emergency passport — some countries have restrictions on accepting limited-validity passports, particularly for visa-required travel.
Step Eight: Replace It Properly Once You’re Home
Once you’re back, apply for a full 10-year passport using Form DS-11 at a passport acceptance facility. The lost passport replacement cost is the same as any standard replacement — $165 for an adult passport book — regardless of where in the world the original passport went missing.
A Few Things That Help Before You Even Travel
- Keep a photocopy of your passport’s data page somewhere separate from the passport itself — in your luggage, or saved digitally.
- Register your trip with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) before you leave, which makes it easier for the embassy to assist you if something goes wrong.
- Know the embassy or consulate location for each country on your itinerary before you travel, not after you need it.
Bottom Line
A missing passport is more urgent while you’re abroad than it would be at home, since the fix runs through an embassy rather than a domestic passport agency. Filing a local police report, contacting the nearest embassy promptly, and bringing whatever documentation you have will get you an emergency passport to finish your trip or get home — with a full replacement to follow once you’re back.
